Tepic, city, capital of Nayaritestado (state), west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of about 3,000 feet (900 metres) above sea level along the Molóloa River, at the foot of the extinct Sangangüey volcano. Founded in 1542, much of the city retains its colonial atmosphere, particularly in its cathedral, municipal palace, and Amado Nervo Theatre. Shops offer Indian handicrafts, and many Huichol and Cora Indians attend open-air markets in traditional clothing. The name Tepic is derived from the Náhuatl term meaning “hard stone.”

City centre of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.

Christian Frausto Bernal

The city’s growth was limited until the opening of the railroad in 1912. Since then Tepic has become a commercial, industrial, and agricultural service centre. Manufacturing is based largely on food-processing (notably sugar) mills. The surrounding farmlands yield corn (maize), sugarcane, rice, coffee, and various other crops. The University of Nayarit (1969) was originally founded in 1930 as the Nayarit Institute of Science and Letters. A regional transportation centre, Tepic has good highway, air, and rail connections. Pop. (2000) 265,817; metro. area, 342,840; (2010) 332,863; metro. area, 429,351.

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estado (state), west-central Mexico. It is bounded by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango and Zacatecas to the north and northeast, and Jalisco to the south and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. The state capital is Tepic.

country of southern North America and the third largest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina. Although there is little truth to the long-held stereotype of Mexico as a slow-paced land of subsistence farmers, Mexican society is characterized by extremes of wealth and poverty, with a...

neighbouring Middle American Indian peoples living in the states of Jalisco and Nayarit in western Mexico. Numbering together about 40,000 in the late 20th century, they inhabit a mountainous region that is cool and dry. The Huichol and Cora languages are about as closely related as Spanish and...